ameera - they look good, and free of the aphid problems you had earlier. They should be large enough to withstand another aphid attack, but the cloth is likely as helpful as a healthier soil mix. The cloth is likely an advantage in your climate in regard to heat and pests, but it will be a barrier to pollination. Once the flowers start to open, you will have to decide whether to hand pollinate or to rely on the natural insect population to do that work for you - I have no idea what that might be in Dubai, but if there are other gardeners who rely on natural pollinators, you should be fine. These plants continue to produce flowers and fruit if kept picked and not overheated, so you will have to balance the advantages of insect and heat protection with the need for continued pollination.

If your plants are stressed, it is not evident from the appearance of the leaves - they look good - so more likely to be a heat issue than a nutrient or light issue. Your cucumbers will need to be thinned, unless you have very high nutrient levels to support all four plants in that small space, but you can safely wait a little longer to see if any plants are noticeably more or less vigorous than others, and cull accordingly.

I'm not familiar with the first picture zucchini type, but it looks like a common geranium type leaf - which grows abundantly in warmer climates. Did a sneaky seed find its way into the compost - maybe ?

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Ugh,I just saw my original post...sorry for the grammer errors...I am posting from my phone.

I don't know what pollinator other than bees there are here but we definitely have bees. One is a small species and the other is one I had never seen before...it is kind of big and the stripes are brown and black... I followed one in the garden once and it went underground. I was shocked and looked it up and there is indeed a species that goes underground and lays eggs there! I can't remember the name of it right now though.

I have to drive now so I will reply more later.

Oops I meant brown and yellow stripes

So knowing that you have an indigenous population of pollinators, you can remove the cloth once you have sufficient mature flowers for them to do their work. Keep watch for any pest populations while the plants are unprotected.

The Sweet Dumpling squash I am just worried about it having flower buds even though the plant is so small still...

For the cucumbers, I have two pots with 4 that germinated in one (which is the one in the photo) and 3 that germinated in the other. I was always planning in thinning it to two in each pot. I think I will let it grow a little more and thin to the healthiest ones.

Bejay, both zucchinis are the same variety...just in different sized pots. At lay I hope they are the same!

Be11me, the zucchini plant in the 30 gallon pot is the same pot that had my zucchini that was decimated by the aphids. That was a Costata Romanesco variety. For some reason it wouldn't grow past the first couple true leaves... the aphids got to it by the second week.

The Tondo Scuro di Piacenza zucchini that are growing in those photos were fertilized with a pelleted fertilizer for tomatoes, bat guano, and a seaweed fertilizer... These grew to the size in those photos in about 15 days from germination. I was shocked at how fast they grew.

I only had the pelleted tomato fertilizer for the CR zucchini plants that ended up not growing much after it got its first two true leaves ...then dying (one of them from the aphids.)

So I guess they needed to be fertilized more and that is why they got stressed. I am growing new CR in different pots now..but they just germinated the other day.

I was told years ago by an Old Farmer-Girl that plants have "one-track minds" 8-) They can concentrate on growing OR flowering OR making seeds, but not all at the same time.

She said that's why peas and beans, if not picked regularly, will stop flowering, because the crop is going to seed. They've shifted from flower production to seed production, and they're not going to shift back.

That's why, when we transplant tomatoes into the ground, we pinch off any flowers -- the plant needs to focus on growing roots and leaves, not starting flowers and fruits just yet.

Carefully pinch off the squash flowers with your (clean) fingernails. Let them concentrate on growing right now, and let them flower and set fruit later.

They look good! Healthy plants can usually fend off insect attacks.

Tip: When the weather is hot, don't panic when your zucchini wilt in the hot part of the day, they've probably just had too much sun. Stick you finger in the soil near their roots -- if it's damp, they do NOT need watering. Zucchini are just funny that way; as long as they perk up when the evening comes, they're fine.

Sue

The "one-track-mind" theory is an anthropomorphic concept based on a biochemical truism involving the production of various plant hormones, and actually a pretty good way of explaining what happens in a non-technical way. Good advice.

I pinched off the flowers from the Sweet Dumpling :)

that was a very good way of explaining the "one-track-mind" theory :)

I've only tried Sweet Dumpling once and they were very slow-growing for me, too.

I have grown squash with deeply lobed leaves like the ones in the top photo. Yours looks great!

Jnfr, how long was it before your ssweet dumpling started vining??

Hey, you are in my home state! :)